WESTCHESTER, Calif. -- Every weekday morning a caretaker comes by to massage Dolly Persaud.

“I have pain 24/7 all over my body,” said Persaud as she flinched in agony.

The pain started three years ago after a spinal cord injury rendered her disabled. She says she used to go out in her neighborhood every day of the week:

“I was fully independent and active, and I end up having this injury.”

Now, she spends most of her time at home. Once the caretaker leaves, she’s fully dependent on friends and family to take her around. At times, her home feels more like a prison.

But she says it’s not her disability that’s keeping her confined. It’s the sidewalks around her neighborhood:

“I can’t even use my wheelchair, I can’t even use my walker. Manchester is a busy street, without the sidewalk what should I do? use my wheelchair in the street?” she said.

She lives within four blocks of a park, a golf course, and her medical offices, but she is forced to stop less than a hundred yards from her home due to gaps and holes in the sidewalks.

“If I wanted to get out and get to the golf course, the park, the library, it’s impossible without transportation,” said Persaud.

The situation on West Manchester Avenue is a symptom of a much bigger problem.  Nearly 40 percent of the city's streets have a D or F rating. To fix the problem, the City of Los Angeles launched Safe Sidewalks LA in December of 2016, a 30-year, $1.4 billion program.

In the time since, the program has been overwhelmed by requests. Its rebate program is no longer accepting applications, and it can take months, or even years, for a request to be addressed.

In light of how overwhelmed the system is, the L.A. City Council is now worried that most sidewalks won’t be ready for the 2028 Olympics. Therefore, they have instructed city staff to issue a report on how to advance funding improvements aside from the existing Safe Sidewalks LA program.

Those extra funds could come from Measure M bonds or Senate Bill 1.

“We need the tools, we need access, so we get out and do what we need to do,” said Persaud.

As of now, Safe Sidewalks LA prioritizes walkways in front of city facilities and repairs requested by disabled people, so Persaud actually has a better chance than most of getting the sidewalks around her home fixed. Still, she feels disheartened that she has to fight so much just to be able to get around her neighborhood.

“We’re like the invisible in society, and we shouldn’t be invisible, as everyone needs to get around, so do we,” said Persaud.

She says the spinal cord injury took away her ability to walk, and now the unusable sidewalks have robbed her of her independence.

City News Service contributed to this report.